"The
cause for Hess' loss of faith is explained when his wife's untimely death is
described by her as something that was "meant to be." This thought that God
could "mean" to take his beloved wife in the prime of her life throws Hess
into a spiritual rage. But what he does not realize is that he cannot be
angry with a God who does not exist. His struggle betrays his atheistic
claims." (Cinema
in Focus, Review by Hal Conklin and Denny Wayman)

"Do you
believe that, even if the worst thing happens, there is a benevolent God
working things together for good, watching over you? Or do you think things
are out of control, and there may not be any answer or rescue available?

"This is very cool,
folks. Very cool. You see, this movie that has captured America's collective
attention and a chunk of Hollywood change has, at its core, a strong
evangelical message."("'Signs' of the
Times," review by Jamee Kennedy at thefilmforum.com)

The Lord of the Rings is a movie which in following the
book well enough,addresses many issues pertaining
to emotions, faith, hope, pity, call,confronting
evil, discernment, and many many more themes. This movie isrich to bursting with possibilities, as it follows the book which waswritten around a mythical and religious basis.
(Michael K. Doran)

Everett has escaped prison with Delmar and Pete.
Everett is somewhat pompous and enjoys using a big vocabulary. He is
also a skeptic, especially concerning religion. After Delmar and Pete
are baptized, he ridicules them. Before they are to be hung, Everett
issues a fervent prayer and they are delivered, but while the others see
a miracle, Everett returns to his skepticism. (Darrel Manson, Artesia
Christian Church, Artesia, CA)

Coming to new understandings little by little: Malcolm
comes to believe that it's possible that Cole sees dead people,
and then later comes to realize that he is one of those people, and
decides what to do about that. His understanding is increasingly
personal, and comes through his relationship with Cole, every bit as
much as Cole's "healing" comes through Malcolm.

(Early part of the video) Roberta is talking to her classes and
tells them "you must stand tall and strong." Later in the video when
she is considering quitting she goes into her classroom and talks to a little girl who
wares a brace on her left leg. The young girl wants to quit because she can
not stand tall. Roberta says "Standing tall is more than standing on your
legs. It can also be to stand tall here (as she touches the girls heart).
Application: standing tall in the faith even when we are wounded.
(Richard Reese)

I think this is an important, even astonishing, film
that deals with issues of faith and love (and atheism) in a profound and
moving way. It's also very sensual but in a humane (not Hollywood)
sense. (Lynn Mason)

"See, Lehman, the thing is, every now and again we
all want to believe in something, but we just keep forgetting that 99.9%
of the time life just flat don't work out." (Lehman proves him
wrong - in that instance at least.)

Sheriff Rogers' speech: "Faith. God
tells a man to sacrifice his own son. The man has faith, and he will do
it. He doesn't ask why. Maybe Abraham, as he binds his son, knows why
they are there. I don't anymore."

"Sonny always has one foot in
really trusting what he believes in, even though he errs. If someone
took your church, like Jessie took his, and if someone took your wife,
like the youth minister took Jessie, it would be a hard thing to deal
with. He didn?t intend to kill anybody, but it happened on the spur of
the moment. ?Oh, my God!?, he knows he?s done something wrong.
?I gotta leave,? he thinks; ?what do I do?? ?Lord, lead me,?
he says. He still depends on the Lord, you know, even though he has
sinned. So he begins an odyssey, the whole film is an odyssey journey.
(From "The
Apostle: An Interview with Robert Duvall," Bill Blizek and
Ronald Burke, Journal of Religion and Film, 1998.)

raises serious issues
about faith in the midst of science?s quest for knowledge. (Ellis I Washington, Columbus GA)

Millenium (television, 1996-99)

Maddie: I was at church Easter Sunday, and the minister was
talking about the mystery of faith, and how easy it is to doubt
what you can't prove, and how none of us saw the miracle at the Lord's
tomb that day, all we had to do was to believe in it hard enough, and
it would be true. And that's what faith was. He said that we
can't be weak, that we can't dismiss the miracle, that we have to be
strong enough to make mysteries real.

There are several good scenes for use in worship on
this subject, but I think the best one is where James Earl Jones's
character is invited by the baseball players to go with them, beyond the
field into the corn. He wants to go, even though he knows he won't be
able to come back, because it's his destiny, what he was brought to Iowa
for. So he takes a few tentative steps, then joyful enters the unknown.
(Anonymous)

".....We, we in this
congregation, are called to do what comes naturally (!) for one who has
considered the costs and believes, one who has in her back pocket the
promies of God as recounted in our Psalm today?.And what comes naturally is
moving ahead.(!)The community of LeChambon,
France did this. During WWII this protestant peasant French Hugenouts hid,
housed, fed, educated and welcomed hundreds of Jews. They set their face
firmly toward Jerusalem- with all it's suffering, glory, uncertainly and
promise. I believe their story helps illuminate Jesus' greatest hopes and
expectations for his disciples.(!)A Jewish man
who was a baby when his family was embraced by the people of LeChambon
created a documentary film about its story. (We should have a movie time at
BPC to watch it). Put a picture of these people in your head. All in their
70s and 80s at the time of filming, there are neatly dressed in well worn
vests and simple aprons, walking sticks in hand, rosy faced, vibrant. The
filmmaker remarks that hugging one of them is like hugging a tree-these are
solid people. Again and again, when asked why they risked their lives for
their Jewish brothers and sisters, the peasant farmers respond
matter-of-factly with comments like: "Sure, We gave up our bed when there
was no choice.""It happened so naturally, we
can't understand all the fuss." "The bible says feed the hungry and visit
sick. It was the normal thing to do."In an
interview with Bill Moyers about LeChambon, the filmmaker remarks, and I am
paraphrasing, "These days we seem to think that good people are those who
agonize. They " sleep on it"?and maybe in the morning their conscience gets
them to do the right thing. No- this idea is wrong. People who agonize don't
act. And people who act don't agonize."Their path
to discipleship also affirms our Psalm text. Descended from a persecuted
people themselves, the French Hugenouts, theirs was a community who took
great pains to remember the past. As good Calvinists, they had a very high
view of the OT and looked to the prophets to nurture their faith and
conduct. Their most oft sung hymn says, "May the spirit that gave [our]
ancestors life inspire [our] children to follow their example."They credit their natural giving now with the simple fact that they
remember their own story. "There's was not a sentimental faith. Not
extraordinary. It was a solid faith that was put to the test and not found
wanting." (Anonymous contribution)

"And if all your faith is wrong, Saul. What
if..."
"Then I'll still have a better life than all of those that
doubt."
"Are you telling me that you prefer God to the truth?"
"If necessary, I always choose God over truth."

M'Lynn (Sally Fields) is burying her
daughter Shelby who dies at the age of 27 years old and leaves a young
child. M'Lynn, surrounded by her friends at the cemetery is enduring the
crush of grief. Her friend Annelle (Daryl Hannah) tries to comfort her
with the words, "Shelby is with her King now." M'Lynn's anger
explodes as she shouts, "I understand that in my head, but would
somebody please explain it to my heart!" Ministry is more than
having theologically correct answers to our questions. We often need
healing for our broken hearts more than we need answers for a
questioning mind. (John Jewell, University of Dubuque
Theological School)

In "The NeverEnding Story" all of Fantasia
has been destroyed. All that is left is a grain of sand. Out
of that grain, all of Fantasia can be reborn, if Bastian will only
believe, and wish for it. (Bette Sohm)

Papillon throws the coconuts over the cliff and they
hit the rocks and break open. He counts and waits and discovers that it
seems like every 7th wave is strong enough to take him out to sea and to
freedom. He jumps into the sea on the 7th wave.

Fred Gailey: Look Doris, someday you're
going to find that your way of facing this realistic world just doesn't
work. And when you do, don't overlook those lovely intangibles. You'll
discover those are the only things that are worthwhile.